The Case of the Fiery Serpent and the Brazen Serpent

Numbers 21:4-9

Introduction

Now today I want to speak to you on this subject, “The Case of the Fiery Serpent and the Brazen Serpent”.

(Remember that we are in a series of messages called “HOPE FOR HOPELESS CASES”…

‌is an expository series of messages about desperate cases from the Bible. Today we will see another desperate case, a situation that was impossible for the human mind, but was easily resolved by the power of a sovereign God!

Would you open your Bibles please to Numbers chapter 21 and we’ll start with verse 4.

Numbers 21:4–9 “4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.

5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”

6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.

7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”

Now that is the Old Testament story. Now I want you to see the New Testament truth. And so turn to John chapter 3 for just one moment. And in John chapter 3 we take up reading in verse 14, Jesus said,

John 3:14–18 “14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The Bible describes Satan as “that old serpent.”

Satan in the Bible is described as a serpent, as a snake, “that old serpent.” These are the terms that the Bible uses.

In Genesis chapter 3 Satan came transformed himself into a serpent and spoke to Eve there in the Garden of Eden.

And so it is altogether significant that we see in this story before us that the devil is represented as a serpent and he is represented as the serpent who has injected the entire human race with the venom of sin.

Every man, every boy, every girl ever born into this world has been bitten by the fatal fangs of the deadly devil.

There is a poison that has been injected into the veins of the human race. And the whole human race is poisoned and sick unto death, and desperate needs a remedy.

With that in mind you can understand this Old Testament a little better in the book of Numbers. And so there are four points in the story that I want you to see.

I. The Sinful Rebellion

The first point that I want you to see is this, the sinful rebellion.

Notice in verse 4:

Numbers 21:4–5 “4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.””

There are two things they rebelled against.

1) First of all, they rebelled against the way they were led. (verse 4b…)

They didn’t like the way they were led, v.4 “the people became impatient on the way”.

They said, “Why did you bring us out here in the wilderness? What kind of a plan is this? We’re going to die out here.

We don’t like your plan God. We have a better plan.”

What they were saying is this, they didn’t want God’s way they wanted their own way.

Isn’t that what sin is? Isn’t that what sin is when a man, a sinner, says, “Lord, I don’t want your way. I want my way.”

Proverbs 14:12 “12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

They did not want the way of the Lord. And so it is with the people of this world today, and the people of this age today, and the people of this place today.

They don’t want God’s way. They say, “Please God, let me have my way. I know a better way.”

Ill.

I heard of a countryman who had been studying a little bit and he’d just learned that the circumference of the earth was about 25,000 miles. He’d just learned that for the first time. And somebody came to him and asked directions to the next town. He said, “How far is it to the next town?” He said, “Well the way you’re headed right now it is 24,996 miles but if you turn around it’s only four miles.”

Now many of us are going our own way. It’s the wrong way. It’s a long way. It’s the way away from God. And the Bible says we need to repent. We need to turn around and go God’s way.

What was the sinful rebellion? Number one, they rebelled against the way they were led. They didn’t want God’s way. They wanted their way.

2) Number two, they rebelled against the way they were fed. (verse.5)

“there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.””

The word “loathe” mean hate. They said “we hate this worthless food.” Now bible student's, What was their food? “Manna”

What they were saying was “we hate this manna, we hate this worthless manna!

For 38 years now, the Lord had been feeding these Israelites while they were in the desert, He’d been feeding them with bread from heaven. It was manna.

And everybody who knows their Bible knows that the bread from heaven represented whom? Jesus.

(Jn 6:30–35).

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;

Do you understand the spiritual significance of this sin? They were saying, “We don’t want God’s way. We don’t want God’s worthless manna!

We want our own way. And we don’t need God’s savior.” That’s what they were saying in type. That’s the spiritual picture in focus.

They rebelled against the way they were led. They rebelled against the way they were fed.

They said, “We don’t want heavens bread.

We want the world’s food. We want to get back to Egypt.

We want the melons and the leaks and onions and the garlic.

We don’t want heaven’s bread. Our souls hates this manna.”

They were saying, “We hate God’s plan for us and we hate God’s Christ.” In typology that’s what they were saying.

II. A Sure Retribution

Now, I want you to notice point number two. I am calling it “the sure retribution, penalty”. I want you to notice what happened.

Look in verse 6 of this chapter,

Numbers 21:6 “6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.”

Now as I’ve already said, the serpent is a symbol of sin.

And when these people said, “We don’t want God’s bread,” then they chose the serpent. They turned from God and they chose the serpent.

Now I want you to notice there are two things about these serpents that are mentioned here in verse 6.

In the first place, they were called fiery serpents. The Bible says “The Lord sent fiery serpents”.

That does not mean they were on fire. It does not mean they were burning.

Some commentators feel that “fiery serpents” refers to the pain of the sting of the venom that was injected.

When a person was bitten by one of these serpents, he contracted a terrible burning fever and every nerve in his body became a strand of flame and every vein became a stream of liquid fire and his head with throb(pulse) with pain and heat.

Fiery serpents, and what does this tell us? Dear friend, it tells us, that there is nothing good about sin. That sin is painful.

The Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard. (Prv.13:15)

You know, there are people sometimes to say, “Oh man I don’t want to be a Christian. It’s so hard to be a Christian.”

(Tommy Morrison’s life) Where did you ever get that idea? It’s not hard to be Christian. That’s the devil’s lie. It is not hard to be a Christian. It is hard not to be a Christian.

The Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard. People take more pains to go to hell than God’s people do to go to heaven.

Jesus said,

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28–30).

He didn’t say it’s hard. He said it’s easy. It’s easy and if you could only understand this. Man, it is a terrific life to be a Christian.

Why go around with the pain of the serpent in your veins?

Why go around with a fiery serpent dangling from your finger and that pain coursing through your body?

The way of the transgressor is hard.

Next time you drive by/visit or see on TV someone in prison, a person addicted to drugs, a broken home, remember what the Bible said: The way of the transgressor is hard! It is! It’s painful to live with the poison of the fiery serpent in your veins.

If I had 1000 lives I’d give them to Christ every one of them. I’d be a Christian if there were no heaven.

The Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard.

I Have pity upon the man outside of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But not only was the sting of the serpent fiery, this verse also tells us it was fatal.

Not only did it bring pain, it brought death.

The Bible says

James chapter 1, verse 15:

James 1:15 “15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

You cannot caress the deadly viper of sin without having its fangs pierce your flesh and to have the poison of death in your system.

One of God’s laws written in the universe just as true as the law of gravity, just as true as the law of centripetal force,(law of motion) is the law of sin and death.

The soul that sin it shall surely die, “sin when it is fully grown brings forth death”.

Now sometimes people say, “Well, I don’t believe that. I’m getting along fine right now.”

Well there’s a way that seems right unto man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The world was in shock when on Saturday February 1st, 2003 after watching Space Shutter Columbia disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. A seemingly perfect spaceflight.

Everything seemed perfect. There’s a way that seems right unto man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

And it would be a terrible disaster dear friend when you come to your final touchdown, that final splash down, when you stand before Almighty God and find out that you’re going to reap the wages of sin which is death.

The two things that we learn in verse 6 is this that the bite of the serpent is fiery and the bite of the serpent is fatal.

III. A Saving Remedy

Now I want you to notice the third point. Verses 7 and 8 tell us about the saving remedy.

These people came to the Lord and they said to Moses, God’s representative, “Moses, do something. Ask God to take away the snakes.” But please notice that God didn’t take away the snakes.

But God did lift up a solution in the midst of the pollution. He didn’t kill the snakes but he sent a way of escape.

Some people say why doesn’t God kill the devil if He’s God? It is not God’s way to kill the devil but it is God’s way to provide the Savior.

And we need to understand this is what the Lord did in verses 7 and 8:

Numbers 21:7–8 “7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.””

A. It Was God’s Remedy

Incredibly the cure for this serpent problem is not a pill or a potion.

‌The solution is a brass serpent raised up on a pole. Who came up with a plan like this in the first place? God!

“Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole” - it was God’s remedy.

Since it was God’s remedy we know, dear friend, we’d better pay attention. Why did God choose such a strange remedy?

Here they are they’ve been bitten by fiery serpents. Why did God say take a serpent of brass?

Well in the first place you know already that the serpent is a symbol of sin.

Now secondly, what is brass a symbol of? In the Bible, brass is a symbol of judgment.

Do you remember in the tabernacle that the sacrifice was sacrificed upon a brazen altar? Do you remember in the book of Revelation when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back in judgment that His feet are like fine burnished brass?

Brass has been forever in the Bible a symbol of judgment.

Now watch it, the serpent a symbol of sin, brass a symbol of judgment, a pole a symbol of a curse.

Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree.

And here the serpent of brass is hung upon a tree. Do you see the picture?

This serpent hanging up on that tree under judgment is a picture of Jesus Christ who is made sin for us and then took the fires of God’s judgment upon Himself. The Bible says, “Him who knew no sin God has made to be sin for us.”

Jesus became for us what that serpent represented. Him who knew no sin God has made to be sin for us.

And that serpent upon a pole is a symbol of Christ upon a cross taking the judgment of our sin.

Oh, how you ought to love the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died voluntarily. He died willingly.

He lay down his life. He said no man taketh my life from me I lay it down of myself. And in the truest sense Jesus Christ was not held to that cross by nails.

He could’ve moved that hand anytime He wanted. He could’ve called for legions of angels. He was held to that cross by the golden cords of love.

Jesus died voluntarily. Jesus died victoriously. He said, “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”

Jesus died to crush the serpent’s head. And Jesus Christ died vicariously that is He died in my place.

He took all the pain, all the suffering, all the hell that I ought to take. Hallelujah for the cross.

Thank God it was God’s remedy. It pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ who said,

John 3:14–18 “14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

That serpent in the wilderness was a clear shining example of the Lord Jesus who took our sins, who took our judgment, who took our hell.

You’ll never know how much Jesus suffered until you get to heaven if you know Him.

As Jesus Christ groaned in agony and blood upon the cross he cried out, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me.”

Because the Savior had become for us the serpent. He had taken our sin and God Himself turned His back. And Jesus walked the burning corridors of hell all alone for us. It was God’s remedy.

B. It Was the Only Remedy

The second thing I want you notice is it was the only remedy.

God didn’t say now Moses here are two or three things you might try.

He didn’t say now if the people don’t like the brass serpent idea we have several other ways for them.

There was only one way.

It was the same for the poor man. It was the same for the rich man.

It was the same for the educated man. It was the same for the ignorant man.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the father but by me.” It was God’s remedy. Therefore, it was the only remedy.

C. It Was a Sufficient Remedy

No matter where a person was bitten he could still be healed.

Perhaps he was bitten on the toe, his foot could be healed.

Perhaps he was bitten on the hand, his hand could be healed.

Perhaps on the ear. It mattered not where the man was bitten.

You see, dear friend, do you get the significance?

It doesn’t matter what kind of sin you have.

I don’t care whether yours is a mental sin, a moral soon, a mechanical sin, or any other kind to sin, the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son can make the vilest clean.

What is your sin? I don’t care. Every blotch, every blur, every blemish, every stain that ever came across a human soul, the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cleanse.

The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin.

It doesn’t matter how many times a man was bitten.

There’s some people they amaze me. They say, “Well I’m not a bad sinner.” They fail to understand the Bible says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point the same is guilty of all.”

Now you know how deadly a cobra is. Suppose you get bitten by a cobra and I say, “Man, you’re in bad shape.” You say, “Don’t worry about me. I was only bitten once.” Wouldn’t that be strange? “I know a lot of people who have been bitten more times than that and I’ve only been bitten once.” Well friend once is enough to kill you when it comes to a cobra bite. And once is enough to put you under judgment when it comes to sin. But on the other hand, suppose a man had been bitten fifty times. It was still a sufficient remedy.

IV. A Simple Requirement

Now I want to do notice the last thing in this story. I want you to notice the simple requirement to be cured.

What were these people to do for this remedy to be their remedy? Oh, it’s so simple. It is so plain. Look in verse 9:

Numbers 21:9 “9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”

Can you think of anything more simple than that? It’s just look and live, my brother, live. Look and live. All he had to do was just simply this was to look.

A. It Was Easy

You didn’t have to work for it.

He didn’t have to wait for it.

You didn’t have to pay for it.

All you had to do was to look at what already had been done.

John 6: 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Friend, the plan of salvation is so easy that some people don’t get saved because they’re looking for something hard to do.

Did you know that? They’re looking for something complicated.

B. It Was Simple

Not only is it easy but it’s also simple. Simple, just look. Look to Jesus. That’s it. There was life for a look. Nothing to earn not a lot to learn but just look.

Salvation it’s simply glorious and gloriously simple. God wanted it to be that way.

You may be smart but because you’re smart you don’t have a head start.

You may have a high IQ but that may become a stumbling block for you.

For God had hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and God had revealed them unto babes.

Listen, it is so simple. If you go to hell it will be because you did not want to be saved.

Don’t say you can’t understand the plan of salvation. It is not so high that you get up to it. It is so low that you get down to it.

It is easy. It is simple. It is personal.

The Bible says when any man looked. Now no one could look for him.

You had to do it yourself. Your mom can’t do it for you. Your dad can’t do for you. Your pastor can’t do it for you. Your denomination can’t do for you. NUBC can’t do it for you. It’s easy. It’s simple. It’s personal. But it’s necessary. There’s no other way.

Conclusion

Use your imagination. Go back with me now out in the wilderness to the camp of Israel.

There’s weeping and wailing, eyes are red from crying, cheeks are blanched white with fear, hands are trembling, no one is safe.

The fiery serpents are everywhere. Fear has immobilized the people. They are frozen with fear and all over there’s the funeral service. See a mother and her two sons as they stand beside this little rift in the earth where they just buried the husband and a father and the breadwinner. They are there baptizing that grave with their tears and weeping and wailing. And about that time a shriek comes from the tent and another member of the family has been bitten by a fiery serpent even while at the funeral service of this one. All their groans and prayers and agony and no one knows what to do. Can you imagine what it must have been like?

Then imagine right in the middle of all of this someone comes running through the camp screaming at the top of his voice with a look of rapture on his face and he says, “A cure. Listen. Hey everybody. There’s a cure. There’s a cure!” At first they think he’s a madman. He says, “No listen, listen. We asked God to do something. Moses prayed. God gave a remedy. There’s a cure. Believe it or not. God said to Moses, ‘Moses, make a serpent out of brass and put it on a pole and tell the people that if they just look they will be saved.’ Listen everybody it’s the truth. It happened to me. I tell you it’s the truth. All you have to do is look and live. If you don’t believe it try it for yourself.”

Some believe, some run, some in desperation clutching at a straw. They run. They look. They live. Life comes.

A mother who’s been healed runs back to her tent where her dying son is. Her son there with the fever in his body and the pain throbbing in his temples. His hands and his feet so weak he cannot lift them. She says, “Son, get up. Let mama carry you. Come son, God has provided a remedy. Come son.” He says, “No mama I can’t.” “No son you must. Come I say come outside the tent.”

And she takes this boy outside the tent and she props him up and says, “Now look over there. Do you see it shining in the sun? Look! Look at it son. There it is. Look at it.” And he lifts his languid eyes and he looks. “Oh,” he says, “Mama I see it. I see it.” And as he looks the pain leaves his body and the flush and the strength of youth surges through his body and he stands to his feet. He shouts. He leaps. He dances. He praises God. “Oh,” he says, “Thank God. Thank God. Thank God.”

Now, I want you to imagine another scene. Another friend goes to the tent of his neighbor lying there dying of a serpent bite. And he says, “Listen my friend, listen. God is doing miraculous things in the land. God is healing people. God’s saving people. Listen friend, you must look and live.” Imagine this one dying of the serpent’s bite. Imagine him saying, “Oh listen friend, don’t tell me about the brass serpent theory. I’ve thought it through. It’s not reasonable. What relationship does a twisted piece of brass on a pole have to me? I’m an intellectual man and I have decided that I am not going to be taken in by that.”

“But friend listen, I was healed. It happened to me.” “You’re one of those religious bigots. But I’ll never be taken in by that.” “You mean to say that you won’t even truly give it a try.” “No, I won’t friend, not me.” And in stunned unbelief the friend leaves the tent and the snake bitten victim dies.

Can you imagine anything like that?

Something very similar may happen in this auditorium today. For I am telling you my dear friend “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life”. - Jesus said: it is“the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life.

Let us pray. Father in heaven we thank you for your Word. Oh for the preciousness of it. We thank you Lord that there has been a remedy, your remedy. Your son Jesus who is made to be sin for us and then judged for our sins. Thank you Jesus that we are not saved by good works but that we’re saved by faith when we look to Jesus. Help us to look and to live. In Jesus name we pray, amen.